AEW Battle of the Belts II Drops in Viewership & Ratings Against NBA Playoffs

– Wrestlenomics’ Brandon Thurston has the numbers in for last Saturday’s AEW Battle of the Belts II special. The event aired on tape delay on TNT on Saturday, April 16. Viewership was down significantly from the first Battle of the Belts special, which aired on January 8.

The taped TNT broadcast averaged 527,000 viewers. The first Battle of the Belts special on TNT drew 704,000 viewers. The show was headlined by Women’s World Champion Thunder Rosa defending her title against former champion Nyla Rose.

In the P18-49 key ratings demographic, AEW Battle of the Belts II drew a 0.18 rating (240,000 viewers). That’s down from the 0.27 rating for the first special.

For comparison, the live early edition of Rampage on TNT that aired the night before at 7:00 pm ET drew 482,000 viewers and a 0.22 rating. The broadcast featured an AEW World Championship match with Hangman Page defending his title against Adam Cole.

Per Showbuzz Daily, Battle of the Belts II ranked No. 10 for cable originals on Saturday. The NBA Playoffs coverage on ESPN dominated most of Saturday’s cable TV ratings and viewership.

It should be noted that the NBA Playoffs are starting much earlier this year than they did for the 2021 season.